The Island Whale

Otto sat quietly by the fire in the hearth while his mother put the cooking pot on to boil, having just gotten home for the day from tending to the family farm. He allowed the flames to warm him and soothe his woes. Otto's father Erik had retreated into drinking Ale like it was water ever since Otto's older brother Carn was killed by an enemy soldier in a war. Otto's little sister Sigrid decided to sit next to him by the fire. "You worked hard today. Enjoy your rest. You earned it." Sigrid said.

The lad's father drunkenly shouted "OTTO!! Go to the market and buy some Salmon!!"

"Why? Isn't Mom making Cabbage soup?" Otto asked.

"BECAUSE I SAID SO! THAT'S WHY!!!" His father yelled, throwing his stein at the boy's general direction. "Now GET OUT!!"

Otto ran out the door and to the village Border where the Docks were. Otto then decided he had had enough of his father bossing him around and not appreciate what he did, so he would run away from home. Otto got some fishing gear, got into a small, humble boat, and cast off. He paddled out just out of the shallows and just into deep water when he got an idea. There was another Island to the east, and on the south side of that island was a city, Otto could sail to the East so that he could start a new life for himself in another city away from his abusive, alcoholic father.

Otto paddled eastward until the direction of the wind changed so the wind was blowing East. When the Wind shifted eastward, Otto set the sail. Otto laid back in the boat, relaxed enough to fall asleep. He slept uneasily. Later that night, Otto was rudely awakened by crashing waves and thunder. A tropical storm had brewed on the Sea that night. Otto tried to see where he was, and just barely made out an Islet to the north.

Otto pulled down the sail and frantically tried to paddle to the islet before the storm had claimed his boat. Otto had only made it one mile before a horribly strong gust of wind literally blew his boat out of the water, the boy hanging on to the mast for dear life.

A lightning bolt struck the top of the mast, breaking it into pieces. A wave then threw Otto's boat over.

There was Darkness

There was Silence.

When Otto awoke, he had a slight headache. When he sat up, he saw that he was on a beautiful island ripe with vegetation, birds and animals. Otto got to work building a camp with a fire, then foraged for edible herbs and berries. Otto ate edible herbs and nuts for dinner then slept under the protection of the fire.

The next day, Otto forged three spears, a bow and six arrows out of driftwood and bramble. He fished and had a humble lunch of grilled Chub.

That evening, Otto threw a spear at an Elk, but the spear missed and embedded itself into the ground. A voice from nowhere said "I felt something poke me. Is someone on my back?"

Otto climbed up to the top of a small mountain and saw what looked like a tail fin in the ocean in front of him.

"A tail fin?" Gasped the boy.

Otto lit a torch from the flames in the fire and walked the other way. Otto fell asleep in the dark. When he woke up, he saw a village on top of the head of a giant Whale.

"Am I on top of a Whale??" Otto asked himself.

"So you must be the sailor who washed up on top of my back." The mysterious voice said.

Otto looked around.

"Is this giant Whale talking to me?" Otto asked nobody in particular.

"Indeed, I am the Island Whale. I am such a massive Whale that an Island formed on my back. I wander the seas, people would wash up on me, so many, in fact, that they made a town. Why don't you make yourself at home there?"

Otto thought for a second, then went to the Town.

The boy slept for the night in the warmth and comfort of a proper bed that night.

The next morning, Otto decided to stay in the town. He had honed his Hunting Skills, Fishing Skills and his Foraging Skills on the island, and shared his bounty and taught his secrets to the townspeople, who were extremely grateful for the bounty and knowledge.

Two years had passed. Otto was now nineteen years old, he was now an adult. But Otto missed his mother and little sister. He decided to build a raft, when the makeshift raft was finished, Otto had told the Whale "I appreciate you giving me shelter, water and food, but I think I'm ready to go home now."

"I can take you home, but be warned that you will never be able to come back to my Island... do you still want to return?"

"That's fine! I miss my family."

So the Whale swam to the shores of the Island where Otto was originally from, Otto paddled the rest of the way on his raft, and the Island Whale swam away.

When Otto returned to his childhood home, his mother and little sister greeted him with open arms. Otto's mother then revealed that his abusive father Erik had drank himself to death one night during his absence. Otto apologized to his mother and little sister and promised he would never leave his home again.

Every day, after hunting, fishing, or tending to the farm, Otto would walk to the seaside cliffs just outside of the village, waiting and watching for the Island Whale, hoping that some day, his old friend would come to visit him again.

Even as an old man, with a wife and a son, Otto took his wife and son to the seaside cliff to wait for the Island Whale with him.